What To Do With Your Points When You Can’t Travel

You’ve been collecting points and miles for years, planning trips and taking advantage of all the offers. But now you find yourself sitting on a heap of points with nowhere to go. Unable to travel, due to travel restrictions, health issues, a pandemic -- whatever the reason, here is why it’s still advantageous to keep those points coming.

The advantage to stocking away points that one day you’ll be able to travel again. And you’ll be sitting on a ton of free plane tickets and hotels. Also, having a stash of points is a great idea in case something happens abroad and you need to get back home as fast as possible.

However, if you’re not keen on traveling for a while, there are some other options for redeeming your points and miles. But, as a disclaimer, most of these will devalue your points or miles -- sometimes significantly -- so we’re not advocating any particular one of these ideas.

Statement Credits or Cash

You can typically use your points toward a statement credit, or link your rewards to a specific bank account. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards can be linked to your regular checking account, thus putting money directly into the bank. You can even opt to get checks from your point system, which you will want to deposit ASAP because they do expire.

Shop With Points

A lot of points programs have teamed up with Amazon. When you link your accounts you can use points to offset your bill. Another idea is to use your Ultimate Rewards to buy your next device straight from Apple.com at 1 cent per point. You can also log straight into the portal for the points you have. For example, pick your airline, sign into the loyalty program and find the shopping portal (you might have to download a plug-in, depending on the program). Within the shopping portal, you’ll have direct access to top stores and brands, with options to get gift cards through a broad selection of different merchants.

Donate Your Points

This is particularly appealing for those do-gooders out there. And especially useful if your points are about to expire. Pick from millions of different non-profit organizations and see how contagious the joy of giving can be.

Bottom Line

No doubt, the best use of points is for travel. Even if you’re grounded for a bit, keep collecting points and virtually plan your next few itineraries. But if you don’t foresee traveling for the foreseeable future, it might be good to relook at those cash-back cards. There are plenty to choose from. And this is a great way to get something back while paying your bills, which don’t stop, even when travel does!